First practice times from Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari one minute 26.461 seconds
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.948
3. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:26.958
4. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.114
5. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:28.263
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:28.360
7. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:28.579
8. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:28.913
9. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.957
10. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:29.014
11. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:29.124
12. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:29.230
13. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:29.301
14. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.363
15. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1:29.533
16. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:29.561
17. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:30.155
18. Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 1:30.357
19. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1:31.048
20. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1:31.771
21. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:35.053
22. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota no time

Second Session

1. Hamilton 1:26.559
2. Webber 1:27.473
3. Massa 1:27.640
4. Kovalainen 1:27.683
5. Coulthard 1:28.037
6. Raikkonen 1:28.208
7. Trulli 1:28.292
8. Rosberg 1:28.352
9. Fisichella 1:28.469
10. Glock 1:28.582
11. Button 1:28.632
12. Heidfeld 1:28.731
13. Alonso 1:28.779
14. Barrichello 1:28.849
15. Kubica 1:28.860
16. Nakajima 1:29.077
17. Sutil 1:29.161
18. Vettel 1:29.193
19. Piquet Jr 1:29.581
20. Bourdais 1:29.605
21. Sato 1:30.663
22. Davidson 1:31.527

Follow live coverage of the Australian Grand Prix on 5 Live and bbc.co.uk/sport. Qualifying starts at 0300 GMT on Saturday with the race at 0430 on Sunday.

Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari set the initial pace as practice for the Australian Grand Prix opened today in Melbourne’s Albert Park, in 39 degrees Celsius ambient temperature and a healthy wind.
The first 45 minutes saw the Ferraris battling each other for fastest time, with Felipe Massa gaining that with 1m 27.524s ahead of Kimi Raikkonen 1m 27.709s. Behind them, the Toyotas looked quick, with Timo Glock on 1m 28.913s and Jarno Trulli 1m 29.014s.
Then the McLarens came out and Lewis Hamilton worked down to 1m 27.386s to go fastest. Right at the end Raikkonen did two laps quicker than that, the better of which was 1m 26.461s. That compared very favourably with his pole time of 1m 26.072s from last year despite the ban on traction control and engine braking.
Hamilton’s late response was 1m 26.948s, a difference of only 0.487s suggesting that the two teams are evenly matched. Heikki Kovalainen got off to a good start in the second MP4-23 with fourth fastest time of 1m 27.114s, just behind Massa, who had improved slightly to 1m 26.958s.

Mark Webber gave Red Bull a timely boost with a late fifth fastest run, of 1m 28.263s. That edged out Fernando Alonso, who got along well with the Renault R28 for 1m 28.360s. Robert Kubica was another late improver, lapping in 1m 28.579s in his BMW Sauber which bears distinctive nose fins atop the scuttle.

Glock’s 1m 28.913s stood up for eighth overall, with Sebastian Vettel pushing ahead of Trulli for the ninth best time. The German lapped his Toro Rosso in 1m 28.957s, beating the Italian’s 1m 29.014s.

Jenson Button looked better than expected in the Honda RA108 which he rowed round in 1m 29.124s for 11th ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India (1m 29.230s), David Coulthard’s Red Bull (1m 29.301s), Sebastien Bourdais’ Toro Rosso (1m 29.363s), Rubens Barrichello’s Honda (1m 29.533s) and Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber (1m 29.561s). Coulthard’s car expired in the pits with a smoking gearbox, while Heidfeld stopped out on the circuit at Turn 10.

Adrian Sutil was 17th for Force India on 1m 30.155s and Nelson Piquet 18th for Renault on 1m 30.357s. The young Brazilian rookie had a difficult morning, bringing out the red flag briefly after spinning and stalling.

The Super Aguris did not go out until the end, Takuma Sato working down to 1m 31.048s for 19th, comfortably ahead of Anthony Davidson’s 1m 31.771s.

It wasn’t a good morning for Williams; Kazuki Nakajima lapped his FW30 in 1m 35.053s for 21st, while technical problems prevented Nico Rosberg from doing more than just three installation laps.

Source www.f1.com

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and Australian Grand Prix organisers are down undre for the 2008 showdown of the Melbourne Grand Prix. The future of the race down under is however, at stake.
The start time of the season first race has been pushed back to 0430 GMT this weekend and could start 90 minutes later (0600 GMT) in 2009.
But Ecclestone, who prefers a night race to satisfy European television audience, is unimpressed with the compromise.
“That’s not what we’re looking for. It needs to be a night race,” he said. “It would be nice if the race was on at midday or 2pm for European audiences, but I guess that would mean it starting in the middle of the night in Australia.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker said it would be impossible to stage a night race as the existing venue at Albert Park, on the fringes of downtown Melbourne, could not accommodate it.
“We’ve got 300 hectares of land here,” said Walker.”It’s just not lighting the track here, it’s lighting the whole park to protect our patrons.” The Melbourne race is also losing money. The 2007 event cost Australian taxpayers 35m Australian dollars (£16m) and A$40m (£18m) is expected to be spent on this weekend’s race.
It leaves the future of the Australian Grand Prix, which has three years remaining on its contract, in doubt.

Welcome to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne’s Albert Park. The start of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship looks likely to enjoy fabulous weather. Forcast says it is due to be partly cloudy on Thursday with an ambient temperature high of 34 degrees Celsius, and that will be the story for the remaining three days, albeit with a rise from Friday to 36 degrees.
The 5.303 km (3.295 mile) circuit remains unchanged since Kimi Raikkonen put his Ferrari on pole position in 2007 in 1m 26.072s before winning the race from the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and debutant Lewis Hamilton.
The race will run over 58 laps or 307.574 kilometres. Start is at 15.30 local time (04.30 hours GMT).

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that he has struck a deal to bring Formula 1 to India from 2010.

Indian company JP Associates has won a ten-year contract to host the race at a purpose-built facility near Greater Noida airport, 50km outside New Delhi, from 2010. F1’s popularity in India is rising fast.

Michael Taub, who has been the driving force behind the project to bring F1 to India for the past ten years, has finally succeeded, along with Mr Sunder Mulchandani, in bringing this major event to a country of over a billion people.

Mr Manoj Gaur, the Chairman and CEO of Jaiprakash Associates Limited, and his brother Mr Samir Gaur, Managing Director of JPSK Sports Ltd, are very excited with being involved with the major brand of F1 and see this as being a huge attraction in India.

Bernie Ecclestone said: “India has always been known for its love of cricket, but F1 has been growing hugely in popularity in recent years as the viewing figures would suggest. Now with Vijay Mallya’s team, Force India, and the news that Karun Chandhok could soon be driving in F1, the announcement of the future Grand Prix in India will spark an explosion of further interest to rival that of the traditional sport.”

LONDON, England (CNN) — 2007 was clearly one of the most exciting years in recent Formula 1 history. But will renewed public enthusiasm for the sport continue through 2008?

Lewis Hamilton gets close to Avril Lavigne at the MTV Europe Music Awards but will the public embrace?

Lewis Hamilton’s debut season saw him achieve the best performance ever seen from a rookie driver. Although he led the championship for the last months of the season, he should feel no shame in coming second. But who will partner him at McLaren in 2008, now that Alonso has — to the surprise of noone — left the team before his contract expires?

Heikki Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg have both been tipped to partner the 22-year-old Briton. Kovalainen, currently at Renault, has proven himself to be an extremely capable driver, and scored 30 world championship points) in a car that has not proved competitive (though he scored second place in the rain-sodden Japanese Grand Prix). Rosberg, currently at Williams, has also had an impressive season, recording his best ever finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix where he came in fourth place.

Hamilton-mania — which reached its height in the summer when he appeared at two events in his home country, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and Goodwood Festival of Speed — may be under threat by the young driver’s decision to leave Britain for Switzerland. Seen as a people’s champion in his home country, his decision to leave to avoid being pestered for autographs, will strike many as ungracious. The fall-out from McLaren’s involvement in the spying scandal, in which it was fined $100 million for making use of confidential Ferrari technical data, will continue to be felt in 2008. Later this year McLaren will learn whether it is eligible to compete in the constructors’ championship next season (the FIA will impose further sanctions on the team if it is thought that its 2008 car contains technology that could have been influenced by the leaked Ferrari data).

Ferrari believes the FIA was too lenient with McLaren, by allowing Hamilton and Alonso to keep their drivers’ championship points. Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo said: “I had already thought about taking part [in 2008] with an 8000cc engine. They’d disqualify the team, but the driver would win anyway.”

And it is not just McLaren that has been affected by “Spygate”. The proposed Prodrive F1 team, which was granted licence to enter F1 competition for 2008, looks unlikely to join the grid. Prodrive was expected to run customer versions of McLaren’s 2008 car. But a combination of McLaren’s woes, and a change of heart about customer cars from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and FIA chief Max Mosley, has scuppered Prodrive’s plans. Ecclestone and Mosley both believe that F1 should be a showcase of automotive technology. So that the presence of customer teams who do not develop their own technology, and are contractually obliged to finish behind the teams whose technology they are licensing, is both at odds with the quest for technological excellence and the spirit of competition.

This U-turn could jeopardize the futures of Toro Rosso and Super Aguri who both race with the technology of parent teams (Red Bull and Honda, respectively).

With Alonso released from his contract to McLaren, the two-time world champion is now free to find a new team. But, having failed to secure a third world championship, will Alonso be able to find a team that will give him a fighting chance next year?

Judging by this year’s performance, there are only two teams with enough of an edge to deliver a world championship to one of their drivers: McLaren and Ferrari. But Ferrari is out of the question, as both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are under contract.

Current speculation is that Alonso may go back to Renault (for whom he won his world championships) or move on to Red Bull. Renault’s fall from grace in 2007 was spectacular. In 2006 it won the constuctors’ championship with 206 points. In 2007 it came third (fourth, had McLaren not been disqualified) with a paltry 51 points. Renault is confident of putting in a better performance for 2008. It had realized the faults of the R27, their 2007 car, early in the season. But rather than improving the car throughout the season in an effort to claw back points, the team thought it would be better use of their engineers’ time to concentrate on the R28 and have a determined contender for 2008.

Renault does not have contracted drivers for 2008. Of its current pair, Kovalainen is tipped for McLaren, and Giancarlo Fisichella may well have seen his last season in F1. There is space for Alonso, but would Renault want him back? Rumors suggest that Alonso will take a temporary home at Red Bull for 2008, before launching a serious bid for his third world championship at Ferrari in 2009. A current Red Bull driver, likely Mark Webber, will be transferred to Toro Rosso. Driver movements at other teams are likely to include a transfer to Super Aguri for Rubens Barrichello. The 35-year old Brazilian is contracted to Honda for 2008 but his flagging talent would suggest a kick downstairs to the B-team. If he completes the 2008 season he will become the most experienced driver in F1 history — in terms of races started. His team-mate Jenson Button is to stay at Honda.

Toyota has lost Ralf Schumacher who, despite years of underwhelming drives, is likely to secure a drive with a back-of-grid team (possibly the new Force India) thanks to his industry contacts. Two exciting additions to the F1 season are the new Grands Prix at Valencia and Singapore. The European Grand Prix at Valencia is to be held in August on a street circuit around the Spanish city, passing the other-worldly architecture of Santiago Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences.

The Singapore Grand Prix will also be on a street circuit, around the city-state’s Marine Bay. To maximize television exposure, the race is to be held at night, under floodlights — thus assuring that European viewers will be able to watch the race live. Some F1 drivers have expressed concern about the safety of racing at night — particularly the dangers of under- or over-illumination.

This year’s scandal, and its nail-biting finale, will likely keep F1 converts watching the opening races of 2008. But will they keep watching if popular heroes become petulant recluses or if there are many more grands prix that seem as stage-managed as Brazil’s season-closer?

Read this artical on Cnn.com here

The Formula One Grand Prix in Monte Carlo is the annual Topclass Sports Event.
F1 Corporate Hospitality is delivered at its best in the principality of glamour and fashion on the mediterranean coastline.
We are Monaco Grand Prix specialists. Our staff have been hosting hospitality programmes in Monaco for more than 5 consecutive years. Amongst the most experienced travel management professionals in the UK, F1Corproate Travel is able to deliver bespoke corporate events as well as accommodation and transfers services on the French Riviera during the Formula One Grand Prix Monte Carlo  2008 . Our packages vary from general ticket, flight and hotel packages to VIP terrace and yacht hospitality experiences.

VVIP Yacht Hospitality
Be guests on the F1Corporate Super Yacht in Monaco and experience something very special during the F1 Grand Prix weekend. Book your own cabin on the yacht for 5 nights or join us on Saturday and Sunday for parties, race viewing and celebrating the event with F1 drivers, celebrities and other VIPs. Off track celebrity parties in the famous Amber Lounge 2008.
Availability is limited, prices from EURO 8000.00 per person

VIP Race Viewing Terrace
Panoramic port and race track views are the selling point of these fantastic hospitality packages. Enjoy 2 days on one of our roof terraces with 5 star race viewing facilities and even better catering and drinks. Free flow of champagne included in most packages.
Situated directly above the start/finish grid, you get to see the champagne spilled at the end of the race! The apartments have comfortable interiors where you can enjoy breakfast and lunch and watch live TV broadcasting the race. Each has an outside terrace for race viewing and a clear view of the giant screen. Prices start from EURO 1500.00 per person.

Contact F1Corporate on 0208 144 2010 or email vip @ f1corporate.com

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has granted approval, via the Singapore Motor Sports Association, for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix to hold the first night race in the sport’s history.

“We are well on our way to creating history – with two positive lighting tests under our belt, we are on track to delivering the first night-race in Formula One history,” commented Mr Colin Syn, Deputy Chairman of Singapore GP. The electric night-time atmosphere will deliver a different perspective for F1 fans around the globe. The later start time will also ensure maximum exposure of the race to the important European television markets. “Given that one of our objectives is to showcase Singapore to Formula One fans around the world, our late start-time will help us achieve this. The stunning city skyline backdrop will be an added bonus” added Mr Syn.

Subject to final safety approvals, Formula 1 fans worldwide will be able to enjoy a race experience like no other in Singapore from next year – a dramatic night street race set against our beautiful city skyline.”

About F1 Singapore Grand Prix
The inaugural FORMULA ONE Singapore Grand Prix will take place on 28 September 2008 on a street circuit of public roads around the Marina Bay area. The race will be the first held at night in FORMULA ONE history and is the first street race in Asia. Three-day Corporate Hospitality Suite packages are on sale from late November 2007 to early December, with sale of three-day passes to the public due to start in late December 2007. Single-day passes will be released for sale just before the Chinese New Year, subject to available inventory. 

Tina and Nico Rosberg at China Grand Prix After Party

Another great event we hosted in Shanghai! Approx 50 guests joined us for the best Shanghai experience!

Its always been an exciting time visiting Shanghai. This fastest growing city never stop to amaze me. Food, shopping, nightlife, and unlimited business opportunites are the top reasons people love Shanghai, and of course, the Grand Prix After Party is definitely a must, celebrating with the formula 1 drivers with the Shanghai elite - the indisputable social event of the year!

 Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has confirmed the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix will take place at night as planned. The inaugural Singapore event is scheduled to take place on September 28. 
The second new venue for the 2008 season, Valencia, is also understood to have received track approval. The event, to be titled the European Grand Prix, will take place in August on a newly-constructed street circuit around the Spanish city’s redeveloped marina.

In its latest update to the 2008 schedule, the FIA also confirmed next season’s Canadian race, removing its previously provisional status. The Montreal event will take place on June 8.

The 2008 calendar in full:

16 Mar Australia
23 Mar Malaysia
6 Apr Bahrain
27 Apr Spain
11 May Turkey
25 May Monaco
8 Jun Canada
22 Jun France
6 Jul Great Britain
20 Jul Germany
3 Aug Hungary
24 Aug Europe
7 Sep Belgium
14 Sep Italy
28 Sep Singapore*
12 Oct Japan
19 Oct China
2 Nov Brazil

*Night race